A Whisper in His Ear
by A plus
Summary: Severus discovers that Hermione is controlling Harry Potter, and through him, the Order of the Phoenix. The question is, who is she controlling him for?
1. Chapter 1

"You cannot possibly believe that it would be a good idea to send only two aurors for protection."

"What you don't understand is that for the mechanics of the mission to work, more would be dangerous."

It was Potter against Dumbledore...again. The kitchen of Grimmauld Place where the Order conducted their meetings had become a war room. The two men seated at opposite sides of the long wooden table argued vigorously. It had started as a belated teenage rebellion on Potter's part, a refusal to accept the absolute control of the man who had dictated his life since he was a baby.

The Order members watched one man and then the other, following the verbal battle.

But Severus' attention was elsewhere.

He watched her from across the table as the Order meeting droned on and on. _What a waste_, he though. What a fucking waste. After graduating Hogwarts, she had been accepted to the most exclusive wizarding university.

Dankenwald was known for only accepting purebloods. In recent years, they had loosened their policies a little, only making exceptions for extremely exceptional students. He should know, he had been one of them. He was a half-blood, and without some pulling of strings by one Tom Riddle, he never would have been accepted. Even while he was attending, it was only his _mark_ that kept him safe and scared the teachers enough to at least pretend to grade him fairly. The first Muggle-born was accepted only ten years ago. Since then, they had accepted only a handful more.

He could only imagine how she had been treated there.

He had been the only member of the Order who had not tried to talk her out of going. Some had been worried for her safety, knowing how pervasive the dark had always been at the university. Some had been worried that she would become tempted by the dark arts when surrounded by it so completely.

He had been worried by neither possibility. The past seven years had shown that she could defend herself...and honestly, how could a girl who believed that even house elves had rights be tempted into service to the Dark Lord? He knew that the Order needed her, they needed her intellect. The things she could learn at that University could give them the advantage they needed. As far as he was concerned, it was worth the risk.

He was disappointed when she returned after graduation.

He had hoped that she would set up a lab somewhere safer and develop new weapons for them. He had been disappointed when she returned six months ago and immediately become Harry Potter's girlfriend. Not that the change in Potter over these months hadn't been much needed. The boy had grown up, become a man, started assuming more of the leadership responsibility which naturally fell on him. But for her... what a waste of her intellect, her education. Severus had taken out his disappointment in her by treating her worse than ever. He had confronted her about it a few months ago.

_"So glad to see your education hasn't gone to waste," he had sneered at her maliciously, "So glad to see that all those years of studying have paid off...that you're making a contribution to the world just as you always wished to do."_

_"I am contributing to the war," she retorted, not even bothering to turn around._

"_Yes, ….as Harry Potter's girlfriend."_

_She turned on him._

"_I am a member of the Order of the Phoenix."_

"_Neville Longbottom is a member of the Order of the Phoenix." The implication was clear, it was obviously no big accomplishment._

He had hoped that being away from her friends would change her, force her to grow up. He had always seen so much potential in her, but she had returned as the same obnoxious know-it-all schoolgirl she had always been.

She had gotten an advanced degree in potions. He wondered if he was responsible for this, if the only reason she had done it was to prove him wrong about her abilities. When he had heard that she had also gotten a degree in the History of Magic, he had laughed for hours. History of Magic? What a joke.

His attention was roused out of his thoughts as she leaned into Potter, gently touching his arm and whispering in his ear. Her hand covered her mouth, but from his angle, he could make out the movements of her lips. It was a skill essential in spying, he made out her words easily.

"Compromise and agree to send only two members to keep watch on the school, more would be too risky," She whispered in Potter's ear.

He slightly shook his head, he had been stubbornly arguing against this for hours.

"Come on Harry," she whispered again, moving even closer to his ear, "I want to go upstairs with you and that won't happen if this meeting goes on all night."

Potter continued to argue his point. All eyes were on the back-and-forth between him and Dumbledore. All eyes except one pair. Severus watched her closely, recording every movement, every breath. Potter seemed to be winning his argument, but there still seemed like hours left of arguing before the old man would concede. Potter sat back down and she gently touched his arm, letting her fingers brush against the bare skin left revealed by his rolled-up sleeves. The sinuous muscles on his arm tightened at her touch. Not a minute later, Potter reversed his position and agreed with the old man, effectively ending the debate and ending the meeting.

Usually Severus was the first one out the door when the Order meeting ended, but tonight he stayed at the table slowly sipping his firewhisky and watched Potter follow the swing of his girlfriend's hips upstairs...just as she had promised.

Severus felt a twinge of unease. People naturally listened to Potter. His connection to the prophecy, his status as the chosen one gave him a natural place in the leadership of the Order, in the leadership of this war. Severus had just watched the boy be controlled by a girl, a girl who had spent the past three years at a university steeped in dark magic. It hadn't been the most important matter debated tonight, but if she could control him in this, what else could she control? He needed more evidence.

Returning to his chambers at Hogwarts, Severus Snape dug up the pensive in his office and emptied into it every memory he had of Potter and his girlfriend together over the past six months. He spent the rest of the night immersed in the silvery fluid, focusing on every detail, every gesture, every whispered word. By morning he had no doubt. Potter's every move was being carefully orchestrated by this seemingly innocuous schoolgirl.

He had thought that she lived in Potter's shadow. He had put the light source in the wrong place in his metaphor. Potter was not standing between her and the light, casting his shadow on her. Instead, she stood between the light and the wall, Potter was only her shadow puppet. She was a queen in every sense of the word, starting wars and dictating legislature with a single touch, a single whisper in the king's ear. She had succeeded where the two most powerful wizards in the world had failed; she could control Harry Potter. His blood ran cold at the thought.

There had been a hole in the Order's security, a hole that as paranoid as he had been, not even _he_ had seen. Each member of the Order was required to undergo days of vigorous questioning under veritaserum and extensive background checks before being allowed to join. All members, that is, except three. No one doubted the Golden Trio, no one had even thought to put them through the security measures.

What if the Dark Lord had gotten to her? If she was controlling Potter on _his_ behalf, they were all in grave danger. He had underestimated her, yet again, he had underestimated both her power and her willingness to break the rules. She was more devious and more cunning than he had ever imagined. Dankenwald had changed her far more than he could have guessed.

He had to know. He couldn't tell the rest of the Order until he was sure. Any doubt about Potter's competency to make his own decisions could throw the fragile balance of the Order into chaos. He had to be sure. His identity as a spy, his life was at stake. If it was Voldemort that was controlling her…well, he could only imagine his fate.


	2. Chapter 2

There was a knock at his office door. She had apparently received the note he had sent, requesting a meeting with her in his labs.

She stepped inside... into his trap.

Once her wand was in his hands, he warded his office and cast a silencing charm on the room. He sent out a stream of silver ropes to restrain her both physically and magically. He was no fool, he knew wandless magic was taught at Dankenwald and that she could probably do as much with a wand as without. She looked surprised, but not shocked. She struggled against the restraints for a minute before deciding it was no use. She looked at him with incomprehension.

"You're controlling Potter," he accused.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she said, narrowing her eyes.

He grabbed her arm roughly pulled back her sleeve to reveal her left forearm. It took her a second to realize what he was looking for.

"How dare you," she hissed, "I'm muggle-born."

"Don't play dumb with me. I'm a half-blood. You know as well as I do the Dark Lord makes exceptions."

"Don't accuse me of making the same mistakes you did. I'm not stupid enough to fall for his bullshit," she said, deliberately provoking him.

He advanced towards her once again.

"So he put it somewhere less obvious did he?" She gasped as he ripped away her robes and blouse, revealing a lacy black bra. He had no need to remove this as the material was shear enough that he would have been able to see a dark mark through it. He circled her. Her abdomen and back were similarly unmarked.

He ripped off her skirt and she stood in the cold dungeon in only her bra and panties. There was no mark on her smooth pale skin. She glared at him but made no attempt to cover herself as her nipples hardened in the frigid dungeon air. He realized that this was not the little virgin he had taught for seven years. That girl would have been ashamed of her body, ashamed of him seeing it. This was a woman. There was no shame, no embarrassment, only anger.

"Are you satisfied with what you see or do you want your galleons refunded?" she spit out. He could see the flame of anger in her eyes. So playing it that way, was she? Insinuating that he was treating her like a Knockturn Alley whore. Well, two could play at that game. Approaching her from behind, he leaned in a whispered suggestively in her ear, close enough that his hot breath tickled her skin.

"You'll _know_ when I'm _satisfied_." He saw her shiver at his words.

He took a quick step backwards.

Merlin help him, he had taken this too far. What kind of sick bastard was he that he had actually gotten aroused by this interrogation? He had to get himself back under control.

"Who are you controlling him for?" he demanded, lowering his face to hers until he was staring directly into her eyes.

She didn't answer him.

"_Legemmens_" He attempted to enter her mind and was strongly blocked.

"No one." She whispered, not breaking eye contact. He moved out of her sight.

She heard him fumbling in the cabinets behind her, then suddenly there was a cold hand at her neck and a vial of liquid being poured down her throat. He choked her until she swallowed it.

"I assume with your advanced potions degree that you can figure out what that was."

"You bastard." She managed to cough out before her eyes became glassy. Even though they were glazed and unfocused, he could still see the anger in them. He needed the truth.

"Whose idea was it for you to control Potter?"

Her anger faded and was replaced with what appeared to be amusement.

"Yours," she said, smiling widely. "It was your idea."

He stood there with his mouth open in disbelief as the memory from four years ago came flooding back to him.

_He watched her after class, packing up her belongings. He studied her every movement. She was at the door with Potter and Weasely by the time he finally called out to her._

"_Miss Granger, please stay, I need to have a word with you."_

_The two boys quickly left as he waved her through the door that led to his office. He sat down at the desk and motioned for her to take the small chair._

"_Sir, if this is about my grade, I was under the impression that I was.."_

"_This is not about your grade," he cut her off abruptly._

_Her eyes darted around the room, as if searching for something which would give her a clue as to why he wished to speak with her._

"_This is not about Hogwarts at all. This is about the Order."_

_She looked unsure of herself._

"_Sir, I'm not actually a member."_

"_I am aware of that."_

_He stared at her a moment until she shifted in her chair at the uncomfortable silence._

"_Nevertheless, there is something you could do that would help the Order quite a bit."_

_He could see the curiosity in her eyes, the eagerness to help._

"_As you are probably aware, Potter hais has stopped listening to Dumbledore. He is rebelling; he is out of control. The consequences for his actions have the potential to be devastating…to the entire wizarding world. You are the only one, the only one he listens to anymore. He is dependent on you, for his homework, for pretty much everything. We need you to talk to him, to get him to see reason, to do as Dumbledore asks. The headmaster and I can send you Owls to let you know what you must get him to do."_

_She stared at him in disbelief._

"_You're asking me to control my best friend?"_

"_Yes."_

"_I can't. I won't do that to Harry. I will continue to offer him my advice, but as a friend, not as someone who seeks to control him."_

_He stared at her with cold calm._

"_I do hope you will reconsider, Miss Granger."_

_She stood and turned towards the door._

"_If we're done here, I really must be going."_

_She was halfway to the door when he spoke._

"_Foolish girl. There are things worth sacrificing friendship for."_

He stared at the woman in front of him, really noticing for the first time how different she was from the girl in the memory. He had been right, it had just taken her a few years to realize that fact. He had to continue the questioning before the veritaserum wore off.

"Why are you doing this?"

"Because it needs to be done. Because Harry's actions affect so many lives. He needs to make the right decisions and I have the power to influence him."

Slytherin had been only one house at Hogwarts, but at Dankenwald it had been the basis of the entire school. In Gryffindor you were confronted with questions like, "would you sacrifice your life for what is right?" "Would you sacrifice your life for a friend?", but in Slytherin the questions are harder. "Would you betray a friendship for what is right? Would you sacrifice a friend?"

She had obviously figured out her answers to these questions.

"How are you controlling him?"

"Well, as you pointed out in school, I already had a large influence over him. It didn't take much more to firmly cement that. I've been slipping him a very mild dose of amortesia to allow my control to be more firm. Such a small dose that even if the aurors tested for it, the test would show up negative."

He released his bind on her and picking up her torn clothing from the floor, repaired them and handed them back to her.

She glared at him as she slipped them back on.

"When did you first come up with this plan?"

"Well, when you talked to me at Hogwarts, it got me thinking. Sometime during university, I decided it needed to be done. The wizarding world needs to be united. People naturally look to Harry to be a leader. He is in a unique position to actually unite them. Besides his famous childhood, besides the prophecy, he is both the child of a long line of purebloods and of a muggle-born. There are pure-blood families who are not pro-Voldemort, but they don't exactly want to see a muggle-born in power either. Harry is a compromise, a progressive leader that still has ties to one of the older pureblood families. It couldn't be me...it needed to be him. I've always been better...behind the scenes."

"Your relationship has also caused Ronald Weasley and his foolish advice to distance himself from Potter."

"Yes," she responded, "and his sister too."

He looked at her curiously.

"She was possessed by Voldemort for a year...to leave her in a position with Harry where..."

"I understand."

He expected her to leave. She had every right to after how he had treated her. He expected her to slam the door behind her when she left.

But instead she sat down in the small wooden chair facing his desk.

"Now that you know my secret, there are some thing I need from you."


End file.
